Adventure tourism, the next big thing in Kerala

Kerala is all set to promote activity-based tourism in a bid to promote tourism in this region. Kerala Tourism Department is making effort in this aspect by focussing in two important sectors, i.e., MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) tourism and adventure tourism.
Secretary of Kerala Tourism Rani George, referring to this development, said that they are planning to aggressively market the concept of adventure tourism this year as part of their experiential tourism package. It will be largely based on rural settings so that the locals stand to benefit from this development. Further, promoting adventure tourism will also push the globally-acclaimed initiative, i.e., Responsible Tourism.
The official also stated that as the region has water bodies and hills in abundance, it will provide the necessary setting for activity-based and adventure tourism. While scuba diving is makes waves in Kovalam Beach, the hilly terrains are a hit among the cycle enthusiasts.
Another new development that Kerala is witnessing these days is kayaking. This has taken off in a big way in extensive backwaters and inland waterways. It started off with Muziris Paddle, which is a kayaking and stand-up-peddling event, targeting tourists and thrill seekers in the 40 km route from Kochi to Muziris heritage locale. This activity is, in fact, becoming a fad in Kochi. An official in the knowhow informed that kayaks have been shipped from New Zealand and deployed in Goshree backwaters. The most interesting aspect of this activity is that Kayaks don’t flip over in tides and people who don’t know how to swim can also enjoy this activity.
With these developments, and Kerala promoting adventure tourism big time, it is looked upon as now it is high time to move over houseboats and indulge in some adventure activities while in Kerala.